Oral care apparatus

Abstract

An oral care apparatus that includes an oral care implement and a tracking module detachably coupled to the oral care implement. The oral care implement includes a body having an inner surface that defines an internal cavity. The tracking module may be coupled to the oral care implement by inserting a portion of the tracking module into the internal cavity of the body. The tracking module includes a coupling portion and an electronics portion that are coupled together so as to be fixed together in the axial direction but freely rotatable relative to one another. The tracking module may only be able to be inserted into the internal cavity of the body in a single orientation. Furthermore, when in the internal cavity, the electronics portion of the tracking module may be non-rotatable relative to the body while the coupling portion of the tracking module remains rotatable relative to the body.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An oral care apparatus comprising:
 an oral care implement comprising a body having an internal cavity; 
 a tracking module extending along a longitudinal axis, the tracking module comprising:
 a coupling portion configured to couple the tracking module to the body of the oral care implement; and 
 an electronics portion comprising at least one sensor configured to measure at least one of a position, an orientation, and a movement of the oral care implement when the tracking module is coupled to the oral care implement; 
 wherein the electronics portion and the coupling portion are coupled together so as to be freely rotatable about the longitudinal axis relative to one another; and 
 
 wherein the oral care apparatus is alterable between: (1) an attached state in which the tracking module is coupled to the oral care implement with the electronics portion of the tracking module at least partially positioned within the internal cavity of the body; and (2) a detached state in which the tracking module is completely separated from the oral care implement. 
 
     
     
       2. The oral care apparatus according to  claim 1  wherein the coupling portion and the electronics portion of the tracking module are substantially fixed relative to one another in an axial direction. 
     
     
       3. The oral care apparatus according to  claim 1  wherein the coupling portion of the tracking module comprises a first connection feature and the body of the oral care implement comprises a second connection feature that mates with the first connection feature to couple the tracking module to the body of the oral care implement. 
     
     
       4. The oral care apparatus according to  claim 3  wherein one of the first and second connection features comprises first screw threads and the other of the first and second connection features comprises second screw threads that mate with the first screw threads, the tracking module being coupled to the oral care implement by inserting at least a portion of the electronics portion of the tracking module into the internal cavity of the body and then rotating the coupling portion of the tracking module relative to the body so that the first and second screw threads engage one another, wherein the portion of the electronics portion of the tracking module that is located within the internal cavity of the body is prohibited from rotating relative to the body during rotation of the coupling portion of the tracking module relative to the body. 
     
     
       5. The oral care implement according to  claim 1  wherein the electronics portion of the tracking module can only be positioned within the internal cavity of the body in a single orientation relative to the body of the oral care implement. 
     
     
       6. The oral care implement according to  claim 5  further comprising:
 the body of the oral care implement comprising a handle and a head; 
 a plurality of tooth cleaning elements extending from a front surface of the head; 
 the electronics portion of the tracking module comprising a printed circuit board, the at least one sensor located on a front surface of the printed circuit board; and 
 wherein in the single orientation the front surface of the printed circuit board and the front surface of the head face the same direction. 
 
     
     
       7. The oral care apparatus according to  claim 1  wherein the electronics portion of the tracking module comprises a chassis having an outer surface, and further comprising a plurality of alignment ridges formed into one of the outer surface of the chassis or an inner surface of the body of the oral care implement and a plurality of alignment channels formed into the other one of the outer surface of the chassis or the inner surface of the body of the oral care implement, and wherein the plurality of alignment ridges of the one of the outer surface of the chassis or the inner surface of the body of the oral care implement nest within the plurality of alignment channels of the other one of the outer surface of the chassis or the inner surface of the body of the oral care implement when the tracking module is coupled to the oral care implement, wherein the plurality of alignment ridges and the plurality of alignment channels maintain the electronics portion of the tracking module in a single orientation relative to the body of the oral care implement while permitting the coupling portion of the tracking module to rotate relative to the electronics portion of the tracking module and the body of the oral care implement for coupling the tracking module to the body of the oral care implement. 
     
     
       8. The oral care apparatus according to  claim 1  wherein the body of the oral care implement extends from a proximal end to a distal end, wherein the electronics portion of the tracking module comprises a power source and a plurality of electronic components located on a printed circuit board and operably coupled to the power source, and wherein when the tracking module is coupled to the body of the oral care implement the printed circuit board is located adjacent to the proximal end of the body of the oral care implement and the power source is located between the printed circuit board and the distal end of the body. 
     
     
       9. The oral care apparatus according to  claim 8  wherein the coupling portion and the electronics portion of the tracking module are coupled together with the printed circuit board aligned with a first connection feature of the connection portion that is configured to be coupled to a second connection feature of the oral care implement such that a plane transverse to the longitudinal axis of the tracking module intersects the printed circuit board and the first connection feature, and wherein the coupling portion of the tracking module comprises an end cap and a neck portion extending from the end cap, the neck portion having inner surface that defines a cavity and an outer surface having the first connection feature thereon, and wherein the printed circuit board is located within the cavity of the neck portion of the coupling portion of the tracking module. 
     
     
       10. The oral care apparatus according to  claim 1  wherein the electronics portion of the tracking module comprises an illumination source and the coupling portion of the tracking module comprises a transparent portion, the illumination source positioned adjacent to the transparent portion of the coupling portion of the tracking module so that the transparent portion of the coupling portion of the tracking module lights up when the illumination source is illuminated, wherein the illumination source is configured to illuminate in a plurality of different colors, each of the colors being associated with a different status of the oral care apparatus. 
     
     
       11. The oral care apparatus according to  claim 1  wherein the electronics portion of the tracking module comprises the at least one sensor and a power source for powering the at least one sensor, wherein the at least one sensor is selected from the group consisting of an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and a magnetometer. 
     
     
       12. The oral care apparatus according to  claim 1  wherein the coupling portion of the tracking module comprises an end cap that protrudes from a proximal end of the body, an outer surface of the end cap being flush with an outer surface of the body when the tracking module is coupled to the body. 
     
     
       13. The oral care apparatus according to  claim 1  wherein the oral care implement is free of any electronic components. 
     
     
       14. The oral care apparatus according to  claim 1  wherein the tracking module is configured to communicate with an external electronic device to send data indicative of at least one of the position, the orientation, and the movement of the oral care implement to the external electronic device during toothbrushing. 
     
     
       15. The oral care apparatus according to  claim 1  wherein the tracking module extends from a first end to a second end along the longitudinal axis, the first end forming a proximal end of the oral care apparatus and the second end being located within the internal cavity of the body of the oral care implement. 
     
     
       16. The oral care apparatus according to  claim 1  further comprising an opening at the proximal end of the body that forms a passageway into the internal cavity, and wherein at least a portion of the tracking module is configured to fit through the opening. 
     
     
       17. The oral care apparatus according to  claim 1  wherein the electronics portion of the tracking module comprises a chassis that retains a power source and the at least one sensor in operable coupling with one another, and wherein the coupling portion of the tracking module is rotatably coupled to the chassis at a location between the power source and the at least one sensor, wherein the chassis comprises a first portion forming a first compartment that retains the power source, a second portion forming a second compartment that retains a printed circuit board on which the at least one sensor is located, and an annular groove located between the first and second portions, and further comprising a locking element that is coupled to the coupling portion of the tracking module and at least partially nests within the annular groove of the chassis to prevent relative axial movement between the coupling portion and the electronics portion of the tracking module while permitting relative rotational movement between the coupling portion and the electronics portion of the tracking module. 
     
     
       18. An oral care apparatus comprising:
 an oral care implement comprising a body having an internal cavity; 
 a tracking module extending along a longitudinal axis, the tracking module comprising:
 a coupling portion configured to couple the tracking module to the body of the oral care implement; and 
 an electronics portion comprising at least one sensor configured to measure at least one of a position, an orientation, and a movement of the oral care implement 
 when the tracking module is coupled to the oral care implement; 
 
 wherein at least a portion of the tracking module is positioned within the internal cavity of the body of the oral care implement so that the electronics portion of the tracking module is non-rotatable relative to the body of the oral care implement while the coupling portion of the tracking module is rotatable relative to the body of the oral care implement to couple the tracking module to the body of the oral care implement. 
 
     
     
       19. The oral care apparatus according to  claim 18  wherein the electronics portion and the coupling portion are coupled together so as to be freely rotatable about the longitudinal axis relative to one another while being substantially fixed relative to one another in an axial direction. 
     
     
       20. A method of assembling an oral care apparatus that includes an oral care implement and a tracking module that monitors a user's oral care hygiene behavior, the method comprising:
 providing an oral care implement comprising an internal cavity; 
 providing a tracking module comprising a coupling portion and an electronics portion, the electronics portion comprising at least one sensor configured to measure at least one of a position an orientation, and a movement of the oral care implement when the tracking module is coupled to the oral care implement; 
 inserting at least a portion of the electronics portion of the tracking module into the internal cavity of the body of the oral care implement thereby preventing relative rotational movement between the electronics portion of the tracking module and the body of the oral care implement; and 
 rotating the coupling portion of the tracking module relative to the electronics portion of the tracking module and relative to the body of the oral care implement to couple the tracking module to the oral care implement.